Friday, May 27, 2011

So we missed the Tuna. Just. We went out to get them on fly at short notice and to be perfectly honest I didnt have a clue on how to go about catching them. The only thing I knew was that free swimming Tuna like Pink flies. So I tied some of those.... I was completely wrong as to how to go about it.

I also tied a little yellowtail imitation to throw incase we came accross some floating weed. Apparently the yellowtail (as schooling fish) instinctively follow a fish that is of the same colour. We've had it off Robben Island where we've had school after school follow flies right to the boat without committing. Hopefully this will both get the fish following and excite them enough to entice a strike.

Yellowfin Fly

Yellowfin Fly

Each of the flies has a hell of a lot of 0.9mm lead wrapped around the shank and then covered in mylar tubing

If theres one person on this planet thats mastered taking massive yellowfin on fly its Dave Christie. The man responsible for probably the most IGFA submissions for the species. His guiding outfit is www.tosf.co.za and if you want a 200lb plus fish- he's your man. Trey Combs said in his book "Bluewater Fly Fishing" that a 100lb fish is impossible on fly and would probably never be done... Well, Dave doesnt land many on fly under that.

Dave Christie

TOSF client

TOSF client

Shimano Exxage as a fly rod

Dave Christie

The Fly

The tuna react best to chunk chum, and, cleverly, Dave fishes a chum fly drifted in the current as you would with actual bait. Circle hook, HEAVY rod, and wait for the take- makes perfect sense.

That rod is a Shimano Exage. Im not sure what the hell it was designed for but seems to have found its niche in extra heavy blue water fly fishing. And I just got given one... It makes my Heliply #14 feel like a 3wt.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Sunday, May 22, 2011

I need a crab fly thats heavy, BIG, but one that has lots of stationary movement... This is what I came up with. The Angry Crab (a reference to the mood by better half was in whilst I was tying it... she was painting her toenails too. So I added that in):

crab fly

crab fly

crab fly

crab fly

crab fly

crab fly

crab fly

I dont like the feeling of velcro. So intstead I used some tan furry foam and stuck that on to some regular fly foam and then coloured with light brown markers. Under it is a coil of 0.9mm lead. You might be wondering what Im targeting with a 4 inch wide crab fly. Well.... these guys:

Locally called "Swart Pylies" or "Black Pylies" they are a short tailed black stingray. You can sight cast to them in certain places. They are however considered to be the strongest fish in the Southern African oceans. I plan to turn a Tuna popping blank into a fly rod for the job. Im not sure what craft to use just yet but at an average size of over 400lbs I reckon Ill be in for a good few hours of fight. So far Im yet to talk to anyone that thinks its possible on fly... Going to have to use Owner bait hooks I reckon.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Sight fishing to carp in 50cm of clear running water. Great practice for grunter. The day before yesterday I fought a fish for what seemed like an hour- massively under gunned. On a 6wt and 8lb leader.

On getting it to the bank I jumped in the water to land it and it broke off at my feet. I dived into the water and tried to reach around its waist. It slipped my grasp and I watched it swim away thinking I would never get another shot.

I returned today and the fish were still there. Carefully watched my back cast and let out the perfect presentation in front of two cruising fish. ON! Better equipped today. 8wt xi2/Tibor Back Country/14lb leader. And I needed it. This fish bent the 8wt in two. Andre Van Wyk (Nepps) managed to get it under the gill plates and after more of a struggle we had it on the bank. Victory!